Jimmy Butler did everything he could to lift his Miami Heat over the Los Angeles Lakers and win the fifth game of the NBA Finals. It was a total thriller; both teams had to fight to get the W but Butler and his Heat had the last laugh, getting a 111-108 victory. As Butler has repeatedly stated, the Heat knew their backs were up against the wall and they stepped up to earned the victory.
Butler played 47 minutes, recording a 35-point triple-double, battling until the last second of the game. He was exhausted during the last moments of the game but the player never gave up and completed one of the best games in his career. He was captured in a picture showing how tired he was and Erik Spoelstra had the best definition for it. According to the Heat head coach, that is a champion in the making.
“That’s an image of a champion, before you’re a champion,” Spoelstra said.
Coach Spoelstra said "that's an image of a champion, before you're a champion"
Frame this, @JimmyButler pic.twitter.com/TkksC6hGQX
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 10, 2020
The head coach had nothing but good words for Jimmy, praising him for his game and the desire he has to win at all costs.
“His will to win is remarkable,” Spoelstra said. “To do that in 47-plus minutes and take the challenge on the other end … every young player coming into this league should study footage of Jimmy Butler, a definition of a two-way player competing on both ends. Remarkable, exceptional.”
After the game, Jimmy reflected on his game. He played 47 minutes, he was worn out and still kept fighting. During the post-game interview with the media, he just said he left it all on the court and the job was done, at least for Game 5.
“I left it all out there on the floor along with my guys, and that’s how we’re going to have to play from here on out,” Butler continued. “Like I always say, it’s win or win for us. But this is the position that we’re in. We like it this way. We got two more in a row to get.“I know that I’m capable of it. I believe in my skill set and my talent. My team-mates do as well. But it’s not just me, Duncan [Robinson] had a hell of a game, [Kendrick] Nunn came in and did what K-Nunn did. Bam had a huge one. All of us, all of us was the reason that we won this game and it’s going to be the same way for the next two.”
Sacrifice it all. Round 5 goes to us.#HEATCulture pic.twitter.com/wXDFGuPN60
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) October 10, 2020
Now Butler will try to tie the series on Sunday night. The Lakers are keen to finish everything but Jimmy and co. won’t let that happen so easily. The Heat have proven to be a hard team to beat and they are inspired after the huge W they got on Friday night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZZxZHlMSVI
